James a



(No Model.)

J. A. CLOSE.

VIOLIN TAIL PIECE.

No.- 481,783. Patented Aug. 30, 1892.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES A. CLOSE, OF WVOODSTOCK, CANADA.

VIOLIN TAIL-PIECE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 481,783, dated August 30, 1892.

Application filed June 2, 1892. Serial No. 435,230. (No model.) Patented in GanadaApril 9, 1892. No. 38,684.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be itknown that I, J AMES ANDERSON Close, of the town of Woodstock, in the county of Oxford, in the Province of Ontario, Canada, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Violins, of which the following is a specification.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple device by which a reserve supply of string may be held on the violin; and it consists in the peculiar construction, arrangement, and combinations of parts hereinafter more particularly described and then definitely claimed.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a violin provided with myiinprovement. Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the tail-piece with the sheave and its friction-wheel connected direct to it. Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the tail-piece with a plate attached to it to carry the sheave on which the string is wound.

All violinists have experienced the continual annoyance of the breakage of the E string in violins and the delay caused thereby. By the adoption of myinvention I have upon the violin a reserve supply of the E string, which may readily be drawn from to immediately replace the broken string without any appreciable loss.

A represents a sheave, pivoted at a on the tail-piece B or on a plate O, connected to said tail-piece, as indicated in Fig. 3.

D is the E-string, a supply of which, say four extra lengths, is wound on the sheave A. When arranged as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the sheave Ais held stationary by a pin F, which projects through the tail-piece B and enters one of the holes G, made through the sheave A.

H is a friction-wheel pivoted, as indicated, in such a manner that its elastic rim I shall press against the string D, wound upon the sheave A, the said pressure being such that in the event of the string D breaking the pressure against the reserve string on the sheave A shall be suflicient to prevent the reaction caused by the breakage from unwinding and loosening the string D.

As it may not be convenient to pivot the sheave A and the friction-wheel H directly onto the tail-piece B, I sometimes provide a plate O, as shown in Fig. 3, which is detachably connected to the tail-piece B by means of the fingers or clips L.

On reference to Fig. 3 it will be noticed that instead of the pin F, I provide a springfinger M, fixed to the plate 0 and designed to spring into a notch made in the edge of the sheave A, the pin F and the spring-finger M both serving the same purposenamely, to prevent the sheave revolving when the string D is connected and tightened for use.

I am aware of the Patents Nos. 72,121 and 214,600, but make no claim to anything shown therein, as I consider my invention as essentially different from those set forth in said patents.

\Vhat I claim as my invention is 1. In a violin, a tail-piece, a plate O, having clipsLto embrace the tail-piece and carrying the pivoted string-sheave A, on which a string may be wound, and a stop, as the spring-finger M, for preventing accidental unwinding, substantially as described.

2. In a violin, a pivoted string -sheave mounted on the tail-piece, in combination with a wheel having an elastic rim arranged to press on the string when wound on the sheave to prevent the string accidentally uncoiling, substantially as described.

WVoodstock, April 25, 189:2.

JAMES A. CLOSE.

In presence of R. N. BALL, D. A. hIODONALD. 

